24 Hour Party People
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Distributing Corporation (MGM) | Release Date: August 9, 2002 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
85
METASCORE
Universal acclaim based on 29 Critic Reviews
Positive:
29
Mixed:
0
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
Christian Science MonitorDavid Sterritt
Extravagant and funny it is, and also quite dark at times. Read full review
67
Entertainment WeeklyOwen Gleiberman
An insider nostalgia trip for graying art punks. It could have been called ''When We Were Cool,'' and it's finally so cool that it freezes you out. Read full review
89
Austin ChronicleMarc Savlov
Loud, hilarious, and enormously entertaining, 24 Hour Party People makes you want to toss current FM radio out on its pre-fab, corporate-sponsored backside. And not a moment too soon. Read full review
88
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Ray Conlogue
So energized by the subject that it overflows with inventiveness. Read full review
100
New York Magazine (Vulture)Peter Rainer
One of the sharpest and funniest movies about the music business ever made. Read full review
88
Philadelphia InquirerSteven Rea
Hopped-up and electrifying. The soundtrack is wall-to-wall and propulsive. Read full review
80
The A.V. ClubKeith Phipps
A funny, unexpectedly inspiring story of excess, poor choices, and unwavering high-mindedness, all tied to that quintessential bit of rock wisdom: Icarus did fall, but first he flew. Read full review
80
TV Guide MagazineKen Fox
Also featured are countless cameos from local superstars ranging from the Fall's Mark E. Smith to Mani of the Stone Roses, making the film an absolute thrill for fans of the Manchester scene. Read full review
63
New York Daily NewsJack Mathews
Personally, I'd rather have my brain invaded by flesh-eating beetles than listen to 10 seconds of the Sex Pistols -- Truth is, I've rarely had a worse time watching a good movie. Read full review
90
L.A. WeeklyBrendan Bernhard
The movie's a rave and a half. Read full review
90
SalonJeff Stark
This dizzying saga of the '80s Manchester music scene is garish, reckless, endlessly self-indulgent and totally untrustworthy. What a blast! Read full review
75
Miami HeraldEvelyn McDonnell
A strange art-house film, a must-see for punks and nightclubbers, a puzzle for the merely curious. Read full review
70
Washington PostRichard Harrington
The manic swirl of characters (most speaking in thick Northern accents that are sometimes muffled and incomprehensible) may leave you exhausted and confused. Read full review
70
Chicago ReaderJ.R. Jones
Coogan delivers a winning comic performance as the pompous impresario, but his story has little dramatic momentum of its own; he functions mostly as a pedantic narrator, imposing some cultural significance on the endless party and pointing out more intriguing personalities. Read full review
80
Film ThreatTim Merrill
Simply a two-hour rave, an acidic, ecstatic trip through the not-too-distant past in a world called Manchester. Read full review
100
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
Shines with a kind of inspired madness. Read full review
75
Chicago TribuneMichael Wilmington
Jam-packed mishmash of wall-to-wall music, trenchant character study, slick sociology and sly witty-Brit comedy. Read full review
70
VarietyDerek Elley
A rough, gritty, often scabrously humorous tribute. Read full review
88
Boston GlobeTy Burr
Just don't expect the truth. An extremely bent, highly amusing form of the truth, maybe, but not the truth. 24 Hour Party People shares with the current Robert Evans documentary ''The Kid Stays in the Picture'' an awareness that a good anecdote often trumps the facts, but here the cheats are cheekily laid bare. Read full review
100
San Francisco ChronicleJonathan Curiel
Funny, riveting look at the music scene that ruled Manchester, England, from 1976 to 1992. Read full review
88
New York PostMegan Lehmann
This wonderful party of a movie, as totally original as its hero, stamps on a smiley face that will linger for hours. Read full review
100
The New York TimesA.O. Scott
"Print the legend," Mr. Wilson says at one point, both quoting John Ford and laying the foundation for his own often fact-free fabulous fabulism. And this movie is just that -- fabulous. Read full review
88
Baltimore SunMichael Sragow
What makes this movie an up is that even when its characters are crying for help, they're also crying for Help!
90
New Times (L.A.)Robert Wilonsky
The film is a whirlwind blur, a kinetic thrill ride through the industrial backwater that was one of punk and post-punk's most fertile Promised Lands: Manchester.
100
Rolling StonePeter Travers
Like the music, the film is outspoken, roaringly funny, defiantly sexual and relentlessly in your face. I couldn't have liked it more. Read full review
67
Seattle Post-IntelligencerPaula Nechak
At times, the self-congratulatory tone makes for smug viewing and slow going. In spots, the pace is so all-exclusive that not every viewer will be able to get up and dance to it. Read full review
70
Village VoiceDennis Lim
As a historical document, 24 Hour Party People may be most meaningful to fans whose epiphanies were experienced at least one remove away -- at a different place or time. Read full review
83
Portland OregonianShawn Levy
Wilson's account is enormously self-serving and self-aggrandizing, but the film makes his ego a virtue and a running joke. Read full review
90
Los Angeles TimesKevin Thomas
Amazing, rich in authentic period atmosphere and detail, an ever-changing cyclorama of a movie. Read full review
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